Two years prior to the release of the album, Lee composed a blues song; his bandmates encouraged him to utilize the song for his solo album.[1] In expressing his desire to release music independent from CNBLUE, Lee expected to collaborate with a different band instead of releasing a solo album.[2] He worked with several composers in order to include a multitude of sounds which deviated from CNBLUE's music.[3] Lee asked bandmate Jung Yong-hwa to compose a song for the album, which did not come to fruition due to Jung's filming schedule.[1]
The lead single for Sparklight Night was determined by the record label via voting between two songs; "Moonlight Swing" was ultimately selected.[1][2]
Music structure
Dealing with eternal love, "Moonlight Swing" is a swing music song which incorporates elements of big band and emits a "fairy tale-like" atmosphere.[1][2][3] Initially a song about remaining "pure and honest like Peter Pan", Lee made the decision to change "Moonlight Swing" into a love song in order to create a more relatable track.[4]
Release and promotion
Sparkling Night was announced as Lee's debut Japanese-language studio album on June 8, 2016, with a release date of July 27.[5] Upon the announcement of the album, a "special" website was introduced where further information would be revealed.[5] A 20-second preview of the music video for "Moonlight Swing" was uploaded on Lee's Instagram account on June 17, 2016; the full music video was uploaded on Warner Music Japan's YouTube channel three days later.[6] On June 22, the record label also uploaded an album digest.[7] A teaser for the lyric video for "Smile" was published on July 11 prior to its full release three days later.[8] "Moonlight Swing" was made available at digital retailers on July 13.[9]
Sparkling Night was released on July 27 in three editions: Regular Edition; Limited Edition with bonus DVD content that includes the music video and making of "Moonlight Swing"; and Boice Limited Edition that includes a set of Lee and guitar pin badges.[5]
On the chart dated August 8, 2016, Sparkling Night debuted at number seven on the weekly Oricon Albums Chart, selling 12,583 copies in its first week.[12] On the same issue date, it debuted at number nine on Billboard Japan magazine's Hot Albums.[13] It has sold 13,529 copies in the country since its release.[14]
